Loose Threads
by Acaylee
Summary: [For Aesha] ‘Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay… it’s not hard. All I have to do is march up to him and give it to him. Not hard at all.’ Telling your crush is hard, look at Sakura. Especially if you left it to your graduation day. “Syaoran… I… I like you…”


**l o o s e** ∙ **t h r e a d s**  
Author: Acaylee  
Beta-Reader: azayaka

_for Aesha _:) _happy sixteenth birthday _

-

"I like him…

"_I like him not_…

"I like him…

"_I like him not_…

"I… _like_ him!" I exclaim, sitting up abruptly, the petals of the coral pink gerbera scattered around me.

And thus I solve my problem. I like him!

"Sakura, you _idiot_," Tomoyo snorts, not looking up from her resting position on the grass beside me. "You've liked Li Syaoran since you first laid eyes on him. Of _course_ you like him."

Twirling the stem of the gerbera in my hand, I smile sheepishly. _Pssh… _Tomoyo exaggerates so much. I didn't like him when I _first_ saw him.

Did I?

Anyways, how could you _not_ like Li Syaoran? Well… I guess it _does_ depend on your gender, because Li Syaoran is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s _gorgeous. _

"Besides," Tomoyo points out, "isn't it 'he loves me, he loves me not' - not 'I like him, I like him not'?"

Apprehension dawns on me. _So stupid! _How did I get _that_ mixed up? I _knew_ something was wrong!

"Right!" I pull out a lipstick pink gerbera this time. "So do you think he likes me back?"

Tomoyo sits up abruptly, staring at me.

"What?"

The ends of her lips curve into a smile before she falls back onto the grass. "Sakura, Sakura, _Sakura_. What are we going to do with you?"

I wait for her to say something more. She didn't even answer my question! Was that a yes, or was it a no? Or was it an I-don't-know?

I shake her right arm. "So does he like me? What did Eriol say? Eriol is his best friend. And you're my best friend. And you're going out with Eriol. So… _umm_… umm… you… _you get my point_."

Tomoyo's grin widens. "You really do like him a lot, don't you?"

I play with my forefingers, twirling them around. "Maybe…" I finally admit.

She laughs "And you were crying a few hours ago."

That's not _relevant_! It's _normal_ to cry at one's graduation ceremony. I'm never going to be late to school again. Never wear this uniform again. Never meet my friends on the same terms again. Never hit my head with the baton during cheerleading again. Never wave pom-poms in the air, cheering for _him_ in a soccer match again. Never 'accidentally' drop my books when he was around so he would help me pick them up again. Wait… they _were_ accidents, weren't they? I'm not _that_ clumsy, am I?

…am I?

"And now? You're murdering the poor gerberas Touya bought you! Do you have any compassion for your namesake at all? Well I guess you _were_ named after cherry blossoms, but they're both flowers! And you are just pulling the petals off!" Tomoyo complains. "Why did Touya get you gerberas in the first place? What happened to the usual cherry blossoms? Nadeshikos? He could have at least gotten you roses!"

Let's see… which questions did she ask weren't actually rhetorical? Pssh… I can't even remember them all. Something to do with flowers…

She said something about cherry blossoms… and me being named after them… and…

_Ahh! _I remember!

"I asked him to."

Tomoyo's amethyst eyes can get a _wee_ bit scary when they're just staring at you expressionlessly. I think she wants me to explain…

"I wanted to do the flower thing like they do on TV," I explain to her, "to see!"

"See what?"

"_You know_," I say a little uneasily. God, I beg you, don't make me say it.Don't make me have to say it.It's _so_ embarrassing!

Tomoyo's eyes develop_ that_ evil glint, and a sly smile crawls on to her face. "Tell me, Sakura."

I squirm uncomfortably against the tree trunk as she grins at me. Eriol's been rubbing off on her too much. _Way_ too much for my liking.

"Tell me," she repeats. "Tell me."

"O-okay," I sigh, giving up. It's _Tomoyo_. Nothing, I repeat, _nothing_ gets past Tomoyo.

"Iwantedtoseeiftheflowerswereonmyside."

"Huh?"

"_You know!" _

She shakes her head of ebony curls. "I _don't_ know."

I start playing with my fingers again, a habit I can't help but do when I'm nervous.

"I wanted to see if the flowers were on my side. As a luck slash sign thingy…"

_That was stupid. So stupid. So, so stupid. _

Tomoyo's eyes shine brightly. "You're going to tell him!"

"Well…" I begin, still a bit uneasy. "It's now or never…"

Oh _no_… not _that_ look. _That_ look is s-c-a-r-y. If we lived a few centuries ago, _that_ look would earn her a position on the stakes.

"That's so cu—" Her eyes widen in surprise as my hand clamps over her mouth.

"Tomoyo! You promised you won't say that anymore!"

"_Sheesh_," she said in an annoyed tone when I removed my hand. "You _are_ cute—okay, okay! But when you're around Li Syaoran you act so c—FINE! Happy?"

I grin in satisfaction as she frowns at me. Tomoyo and 'cute' go together like cheese and wine. But of course, you can always have cheese without wine. Like cheese and crackers… cheese and nachos… cheese and… I'll stop.

"So _that's_ why you told Touya and your father you were going to stay here for a while," Tomoyo continue. "My little Sakura-chan is growing up! _So cu_…" she trails off.

Dammit. Why did I get Tomoyo started? Because once Tomoyo gets started on something, there's no stopping her until her interrogation ends.

"So how are you going to tell him?" she asks casually.

_Eek_… I haven't gotten up to that part yet.

"I don't know…"

She grins. "Practice with me! Pretend I'm _Syaoran_ and you're going to tell me you like me."

_Oh my gosh… _

"Pretend I'm _the_ most gorgeous guy in the whole school—well, ex-school. Pretend you're staring into endless amber irises, so dreamy and so deep that—"

"TOMOYO!" I interrupt. "You _have_ a boyfriend!"

"Heh heh," she says nervously, fingering the necklace around her neck. "A girl can't help looking, can she?"

"What would Eriol say if he heard you say that?" I steer the conversation away from the topic of my confession.

"I was only—" Tomoyo stops, narrowing her eyes at me. "Oh no, missy! Trying to change the subject isn't going to work! Back to what we were doing — your confession of undying love that survives throughout the ages, surviving the evil clutches of that slu—"

"Tomoyo!" I groan. _Horrible! _

"Okay, okay! Back to what we were doing—you and your confession. If I was Li Syaoran… what would I say?" she says thoughtfully. "Do you think he would say 'cute'?"

"What's that?" I point to the necklace she has around her neck, hoping it'll be a way to distract to her. There is _no way on Earth_ that I'm going to 'pretend' to confess to Tomoyo while pretending she's Li Syaoran, who as she said, is _the_ most gorgeous guy in the school. Well, _was_, as she'd also said, because we did graduate a few hours ago, didn't we? But literally… he's still _in_ the school even if he's not a student _at_ the school. If he's not here… then what I am I doing here then? _Pssh…_ this is all making my head spin.

"This?" Tomoyo lifts the necklace up.

Wait… _is that a button? _

Talk about eccentric. I know Tomoyo wants to be a fashion designer… but wearing a button on a string around her neck?

I blink a few times, not quite knowing what to say. I like your button? _Pssh… _

She laughs upon seeing my expression. "Eriol gave it to me," she explains, as if that should answer everything.

…which I guess it kind of does. It's _Eriol, _who knows what kind of weird things are in his head.

"Ohh," I say after a while. "That's very thoughtful of him."

"Sakura!" Tomoyo says in exasperation. "Are you sure you're even Japanese?"

Did I say something wrong?

"Don't you know the custom with the button?"

"Umm…" I mumble. "Not really…"

She sighs and explains. "On graduation day, you give the second button from the top to the person you care the most about, because it's the closest to the heart. So you give it to the person who is the most special to you."

"And Eriol gave his to you?"

She smiles dreamily, holding the button between her fingers. "Yeah…"

_Wait…_ if you give your button to the person who is the most special to you…

That means…

_That means_…

I… I could…

No.

I can't do that.

_But_…

This is so stupid. I'm going to tell him. I'm going to give Syaoran my button. And if Touya asks why my second button is missing, I'll just say it fell off, and hopefully, he won't know about the custom thingy.

I'm going to tell him.

I am.

I get up and brush my skirt down.

Oh gosh… why is my heart beating so fast? I swear it's going to stop if it gets any faster.

"Sakura?"

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Okay… it's not hard. All I have to do is march up to him and give it to him.

Not hard at all.

"Sakura?" Tomoyo asks again.

"Tomoyo," I say firmly. "I'm going to give Syaoran my button."

I started walking off, knowing that if she says anything, I'll chicken out. Anything, really, and I'll lose my 'courage', and I won't be able to tell him.

_Just breathe. _

Eriol said he and Syaoran'd be talking with Syaoran's family who came from China to see his graduation. So… all I have to do is ask for a minute and _there. _

Yes.

Just walk up to the area near the gymnasium.

Walk and talk.

I can do that.

"SAKURA! WAIT!" Tomoyo calls out as I walked further and further away.

"I'll be back!" I call back, waving to her.

That's a good sign.

I didn't go back.

I can make it.

…I _think_.

Yes. I will march up to Li Syaoran and give it to him. That is, I will march up to Li Syaoran and give him my button—not hard at all.

I don't look back at Tomoyo as I walk further and further away from the tree we were sitting under (well, I was sitting and she was lying), which is on the side of the school oval. There weren't many people left now, and thankfully Syaoran's showing his family around. Well, that's what Eriol said, and Eriol—_thankfully_—is related to Syaoran. And thankfully, Eriol told Tomoyo, and in turn, Tomoyo told me. So thankfully, I know that I still have time to… time to… time to do _you_ know. So all I have to do now is find Syaoran and… I'll justgo from there

But _really, _thankfully, I wa—

"MMMMMMMPPPHHHHH!" My cry comes out all muffled, a hand clamping firmly over my mouth—someone's grabbed me from behind.

This can't be happening to me! I'm getting kidnapped on the last day of school! How am I going to give Syaoran my button?

Wait. Self defence. Yes! I can do self defence! I will punch, elbow or kick the scrot… scrotum… umm… stop! What if my assailant's female? She won't have a scrotum then, will she? Wait… what is a scrotum?

"Sakura, it's me," my 'kidnapper' says quietly.

_Pssh…_ I know the voice of my kidnapper! It's… it's…

"Syaoran?" I turn around immediately. Ohh _gosh… I'm going weak at the knees. _

"Eriol, where is he?" a voice demands from afar—a feminine voice.

Syaoran pulls me behind the nearest building with him.

"Yeah, Eriol!" another girl chimed in.

I looked at Eriol who's, right now, a few metres away, surrounded by four girls who look very similar to each other. _Oh wow! _Quadruplets!

Beside me, Syaoran smirks, his hand still around mine. My heart's fluttering so fast I swear it'll stop at any moment. Or _fly_? It'll work even better than Red Bull!

"My sisters," he murmurs. He's so close I could melt right now.

"Eriol!" a girl starts. "We know you know."

"Where—" the girl next to her begins.

"—is Li Syaoran?" the first girl finishes.

The look on Eriol's face is _priceless_.

Syaoran's hold on me tightens. "Please don't say anything. Please."

_Pssh_… I'm happy where I am.

Eriol suddenly glances our way, and Syaoran immediately pulls us back into the shadows. He's a little breathless and there's a grin on his face. From running away, I guess, for the breathless bit.

"E-ri-ol!"

"Eriol! You're so mean! We haven't seen our cute little brother in _ages!" _

_"Eriol, _you're our favourite cousin!"

"What about Meiling?"

"_What_ about Meiling?"

"Where's Li Xiaolang?"

"_You're sooo mean!" _

_"_We're so disappointed in you!"

"You should have grabbed Xiaolang when he was running!"

"I think you were in on it! That's why he got away so fast!"

"_So _mean!"

Syaoran's grin widens and he pulls me further and further away. I try to keep up with him, but my feet are so wobbly! He always has that effect on me.

Just being with him kinda makes me forget that today might be the last time I'll ever see him. And it's so strange that I'm running away with him from his sisters.

He laughs and collapses on the ground next to me. "Did you see the look on his face?"

Tell him. It's now or never. I touch the second button on my blouse and pull on it gently.

"Syaoran…" I begin, a little uneasily. "Can I tell you something?"

He stands up, just inches away from me, nodding. I take a deep breath. He's _so_ gorgeous it's shocking—and also a _wee_ bit intimidating.

Yes, I will stick to the plan! Or whatever my head is telling me to do. So… that means pull the button off. I yank on the button. How did Eriol do it?

Oh my gosh! Stupid button! Really beginning to piss me off! Come off dammit! COME OF—oh look! It came off! Hehe!

I look up at Syaoran's face. From the look of his expressionless face, I get the feeling he wants an explanation.

I take his hand and drop my button on to it. Right, explain now.

"Tomoyo told me that on graduation day, you give the button second from the top to the person who is the most special to you. Because… because it's the closest to the heart," I gush.

"So… so I wanted to give you mine. Because… because… Syaoran… I… I like you."

I look down, taking in deep breaths. I'm breathless from my sudden confession… and also because I don't really want to see his reaction, whatever it is.

Suddenly, and yet so gently, a finger lifts my chin up.

And he kisses me.

"Do you know why I ran away from my sisters?" he whispers after his lips leave mine, his breath tickling my ear. "I was going to find you. Eriol told me you were still here. Because…"

I hold my breath; his arms are still around my waist.

"I like you too."

Oh…

My…

Gosh… 

I think I'm going to faint.

He rips off the second button from his shirt and gently put it in my hand.

"Because you are the most special person to me, Kinomoto Sakura."

My voice gets stuck in my throat. _Oh_ my gosh… I think I'm going to cry! So stupid_. So stupid_!

I wrap my arms around his neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent.

We stay like that for a while, and it just felt so… _natural_. And I know that as long as Syaoran was there, I could go through with anything. So God, throw whatever embarrassing thing you want at me.

"By the way… only males give their buttons away… not the other way around."

_Oops. _

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**_Disclaimer_**_  
CCS © CLAMP_

**Date**:  
8th March 2007

**Author's Notes**  
-scratches head- Let's see, this revised a/n is on the 6th September 2007, for future note XD This one-shot was written for Aesha's b'day, and I… do not like it. It's horribly fluffy and ohmygosh just so fluffy! Hehe XD Well, I got Yana to edit it (beta-read, whatever you want to call it) for me, since I tried myself, and was so disgusted by my own writing I wanted to delete it. :) But I promised a friend I wouldn't delete my stories anymore. So ta-dah! The revised-with-better-grammar version! And I will never touch this story again. Ever. xD But, -hinthint- I do love reviews, nomatterwhat XD **-_Acaylee_**


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